Message Stick: Indigenous identity in urban Australia

An art exhibition titled ‘Message Stick: Indigenous identity in urban Australia’, organised by the Australian High Commission is now on at the J.D.A. Perera Gallery, Colombo 7. It will conclude on April 7.

It is an Australian Government-supported touring exhibition of indigenous Australian art. Drawn from the urban art scene in Australia, the exhibition features significant works by artists at the forefront of contemporary arts in Australia.

The striking images have at their heart, the stories of Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island communities and their culture. The works may make you think differently about what it means to be Indigenous in Australia today.

Australia's long-running Indigenous arts touring program – and this exhibition in particular demonstrates the commitment to embrace and celebrate Australian Indigenous culture, the world's oldest living culture. The art is dynamic. It presents a fresh view of contemporary Indigenous identity, reflecting the enormous contributions of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island communities to modern Australian society. The works in ‘Message Stick’ are at times personal, political and provocative, demonstrating the strong diversity of opinion and identity in modern Australian society.

Art by Indigenous artists living in urban areas came into prominence in the 1970s and ’80s during a period of social change and political activism. The artists came from diverse backgrounds and communities, but what they shared was common experience of assimilation and discrimination. The first wave of urban Indigenous artists was followed by a second wave in the early 1990s. Many of the artists were university educated as well as being politically aware and reinforcing a strong cultural identity.

During the period the landmark 1992 Mabo and Others Vs Queensland court case recognised the native title land rights of the Aboriginal people for the first time, effectively overturning the doctrine that Australia was terra nulllius at the time of Captain Cook's arrival – land belonging to no one. Many artists took inspiration from the events of the period and focussed on issues of reconciliation and land rights.

In recent years, younger artists have looked to personal experiences of growing up in an urban environment in Australia in the 1980s and ’90s. This younger generation of artists who have witnessed the recognition of Indigenous social history, in particular the National Apology to the stolen generation in 2008, and the success of the generation of artists before them, continue to offer new perspectives of what it means to be an Indigenous person living in urban Australia today.

Message Stick continues the Australian High Commission's tradition of showcasing Australian Indigenous culture in Sri Lanka, building on the Balgo: Contemporary Australian Art from the Balgo Hills exhibition in 2011 and screenings of the film Bran Nue Dae in Colombo, Kandy and Jaffna in 2012.